Boltzmann Lecture - Lisa Randall: The Nature of Dark Matter

Professor Lisa Randall (Harvard University) will discuss possibilities for dark matter, focusing on her recent work on how astronomical measurements can give insights into dark matter's interactions.

Short Biography

Professor Lisa Randall studied theoretical particle physics and cosmology at Harvard University. Her research connects theoretical insights addressing puzzles in our understanding of the properties of matter, the universe, and space. Randall has developed and studied a wide variety of ideas that could take us beyond our current understanding of particle physics and cosmology, the most prominent involving extra dimensions of space. Randall’s current research focus is dark matter and her latest book, /Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs, /is asweeping overview of the evolution of the Universe, the Milky Way, the Solar System, and life. Randall’s books, /Warped Passages/ (2005), and /Knocking on Heaven’s Door/ (2011), were featured on the New York Times’ lists of “100 Notable Books.” Her e-book, /Higgs Discovery: The Power of Empty Space/, was published in 2012.

Professor Randall’s studies have made her among the most cited and influential theoretical physicists. In 2016, she received the Julius Wess Prize, from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. In 2013, she received the Andrew Gemant Award from the American Institute of Physics and in 2007 she received the Julius Lilienfeld Prize from the American Physical Society for her work on elementary particle physics and cosmology and for communicating this work to the public. Professor Randall was on the list of Time Magazine's "100 Most Influential People" of 2007 and was one of 40 people featured in The Rolling Stone 40th Anniversary issue that year and was featured in Newsweek's "Who's Next in 2006" as "one of the most promising theoretical physicists of her generation" and in Seed Magazine's "2005 Year in Science Icons.

Professor Randall earned her PhD from Harvard University and held professorships at MIT and Princeton University before returning to Harvard in 2001. Randall is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, was a fellow of the American Physical Society, and is a past winner of an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship, a National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award, and a DOE Outstanding Junior Investigator Award. She is an Honorary Member of the Royal Irish Academy and an Honorary Fellow of the British Institute of Physics. She is also the recipient of honorary degrees from Brown University, Duke University, Bard College, and the University of Antwerp.